Preview · the opening missionRead this to the class:
On 3 January 2026, Mia in Sydney video-called her cousin Josh in London. Mia was back from the beach, where it was 27 °C. In London the Sun had set just after four in the afternoon. "Guess what?" said Josh. "My teacher says today Earth is at its closest to the Sun all year." Mia laughed. "Then why are you freezing?" Your team's job: test the idea that summer is when Earth is closest to the Sun, and find a better explanation if it fails.
Teams of three, with jobs that rotate between Part A and Part B: Reader (reads the cards aloud), Recorder (fills in the sheet) and Skeptic (asks "how do we know?").
Look inside the PDF
Sample pages, stamped “preview”. The download is the clean, full lesson.
In the full lesson PDF
8 printable pages
- Predict (5–10 min)
- Hunt (20 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
- Worksheet: Evidence cards
- Worksheet: Label it
- Worksheet: Try it at home
On the student sheet
- My prediction
- The Orbit card
- Sorting the cities
- The human orbit
- Mia's reply to Josh
- Evidence cards
- Label it
- Try it at home
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.
Free with an account (any 3 lessons), or US$19 for all 3 lessons in this unit.
What students show by the end
- Uses the evidence
- Tests the idea
- Explains with a model
From the lesson’s rubric, which scores each one as not yet, getting there or got it.
Questions teachers ask
How long does “Is summer when Earth is closest to the Sun?” take?
45–60 min. Group size: teams of 3, then the whole class.
How much prep does it need?
10 minutes. Print one set of evidence cards per team and cut them apart. Print the twelve month cards from the Worksheet once for the class. Clear a space about 7 m (23 ft) across (hall, gym, playground or desks pushed back), and tape a sheet marked NORTH STAR high on one wall.
What materials do I need?
None. No materials needed: just the printed sheets.
Which curriculum standards does it cover?
NGSS (US): MS-ESS1-1 (partly). It also matches England National Curriculum, Key Stage 3; England National Curriculum, Year 5 and Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary Science (not endorsed by Cambridge).
What’s in the lesson PDF?
A teacher guide that walks you through predict, hunt, reveal, act, background for the teacher and assessment, then a student sheet (“My prediction”, “The Orbit card”, “Sorting the cities”, “The human orbit”, “Mia's reply to Josh”, “Evidence cards”, “Label it” and “Try it at home”) on its own page, ready to photocopy. It’s US Letter and prints cleanly in black and white.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. A free account includes any 3 full lessons of your choice, and this can be one of them. After that, this unit is US$19 for all 3 lessons, yours to keep, or every lesson is US$199 a year.